Chapter 2 – A New Situation

General James Ironwood was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back on his Atlesian Airship. He wore a smart white overcoat, grey undercoat, black jumper, a red tie and smart white trousers. Ironwood was also regarded as being quite handsome, with neat black hair, a few stylish white streaks at the side and well-built body. Ironwood was a tough man who was sometimes hard to reason with, but he always had the best intentions in mind. He was the commander and chief of the kingdom of Atlas: one of, if not the, most advanced Kingdoms in Remnant after all.


Located in the frigid north of the continent of Solitas, Atlas had been originally founded under the name of "Mantle", using the mountainous region's natural barriers to protect the new civilisation from the creatures of Grimm: eldritch abominations with no soul or aura of their own. Climate and harsh conditions made it hard for settlers to call Mantle their new home and for the population to grow, but the innovative minds of the original inhabitants used their intellect to develop technology far more advanced than that of the other three Kingdoms of Mistral, Vale and Vacuo. They also utilised something known as "dust": a versatile element with a lot of naturally occurring energy. There are variations on the type of dust acquirable, such as there being different elemental forms. Dust can either come in the physical form of crystals or powder and could be used as an energy propellant or even weaponry when handled correctly.

Mantle formed an alliance with Mistral on the grounds of trade and power. The Kingdom of Vale repudiated against the practices and policies of Mantle, such as slavery and abuse towards its citizens. The "Great War" began following an outbreak of a riot in the region of Sanus, which was shared by the Mistral/Mantle alliance and Vale at the time. It's not known who provoked the other, but the war started and the tumult began.

The Kingdom of Vacuo remained ambivalent during the initial stages of the war, but later allied with Vale after realising that if Vale fell to Mantle and Mistral, no one and nothing could stop them from taking over the world and imposing their ideologies and ways of life on all other regions and continents: including Vacuo. Soon, Vacuo partnered up with Vale and fought alongside them. Ten years passed with no end in sight; that is until after a ferocious battle in Vacuo soil, where Mistral forces were brutally defeated. It was at that point when the respective generals and forces were brought together on the Island of Vytal. A peace treaty was signed, land was distributed to the four kingdoms and new Huntsmen and Huntresses academies were set up to train young warriors to uphold peace and equanimity after the Great War had finally come to an end from then on.


The Kingdom of Mantle established its own academy, under the name of "Atlas Academy". Unlike the other four Kingdoms, the new Kingdom of Atlas combined its military, armed forces, education and Huntsmen academy, and even the societal side of the Kingdom into one. The aftermath of the Great also saw the establishment of the Schnee Dust Company, founded by Nicholas Schnee. The company became the largest producer and manipulator of dust in all of Remnant, but was also controversial for its treatment of employees and business practices.

It was perhaps for these reasons that Atlas's academy remained the most powerful in Remnant. However a good army needs a commander, and you could not find a more committed man to military swagger than General Ironwood.
Right now, he had brought his armed forces to Beacon Academy in the Kingdom of Vale, who were currently hosting the Vytal Festival Tournament: a regulated and controlled environment, inside the remarkable Amity Colosseum, where students who were aspiring huntsmen and huntresses from academies across Remnant competed in fights to claim victory and pride for their kingdoms. It was an event held every two years as a homage to the peace treaty formed after the Great War.
Besides the thrills and excitement that came with the fights, the Vytal Festival also brought all the Kingdoms together for unity to celebrate peace and cultural diversity. It didn't matter who you were; a professor, a teacher, a student, a citizen or even a pet – everyone could always look forward to the Vytal Festival.


Ironwood continued pacing up and down the cockpit of his personal airship. He was contemplating a discussion he had had with the headmaster of Beacon Academy: Professor Ozpin.
It was hard for anyone to deny it was almost impossible to not respect Professor Ozpin. Despite no longer being middle-aged, he remained as prestigious as could possibly be: both in combat and in words. The man was charismatic, empathetic, brave and an all-around a pleasant man with a heart bigger than Ironwood's entire military. However, General Ironwood still saw one flaw in Ozpin that he could not shake off. Ozpin was very much a pacifist and would only open fire is conflict was imminent. Ironwood by contrast took the stance that you must be pre-emptively ready for an attack.

"So, what in the world has brought you all the way down from Atlas?" said Ozpin. "Headmasters don't typically travel with their students for the Vytal Festival."

"Well you know how much I love Vale this time of year." He replied, politely accepting a mug of hot cocoa that Ozpin handed him. "Besides, with you hosting, I thought this might be a good opportunity to catch up."

"I can certainly appreciate quality time between friends. However… the small fleet outside my window has me somewhat concerned."

"Well… concern is what brought them here."

"And I understand that travel between kingdoms has become increasingly difficult."

"Oz… you and I both know why I brought those men."
Ozpin took a sip of his hot cocoa and sighed. "We are in a time of peace. Shows like this are just going to give off the wrong impression."

"But if what Qrow said is true then -"

"If what Qrow said is true, then we will handle it tactfully. It's the Vytal Festival; a time to celebrate unity and peace. So I suggest you not scare people by transporting hundreds of soldiers halfway across the continent."

"I'm just being cautious." Ironwood insisted frustratingly.

"As am I, which is why we will continue to train the best Huntsmen and Huntresses we can."

"Believe me, I am." said Ironwood solemnly. He began to walk away from Ozpin's desk and leave his office. Before he exited via the lift however, he turned his head around and said one last thing to Ozpin. "But ask yourself this: Do you honestly believe your children… can win a war?"

Once the lift doors closed and Ironwood was out of earshot, Ozpin said quietly to no one in particular: "I hope they never have to…"


Ironwood had confronted Ozpin on a few more occasions since first meeting him upon arrival at Beacon Academy. He understood that Ozpin did not want to elicit anxiety and panic amongst the people, but he could not comprehend why he seemed so nonchalant. He felt bad for thinking this way, but Ironwood sometimes thought about how the original settlers in Vacuo had been very inattentive to the dangers they were potentially in with the harsh environment and possibility for the creatures of Grimm to attack whilst they were unprepared. Ozpin wasn't careless, but he often gave the impression that he didn't treat the situation as seriously as he should.

Some very notable things had happened post and prior to Ironwood's first meeting with Ozpin. One of Ozpin's students: Ruby Rose had an encounter with the nefarious crime lord Roman Torchwick, as well as a lady whose face no one had seen. They were robbing a dust shop in Vale. One of the henchmen attempted to rob Ruby, only to discover the Ruby was a formidable huntress and was soon after defeated. One of the teachers at Beacon: Professor Glynda Goodwitch had also witnessed the scene. Another dust shop had been attacked prior the Vytal Festival beginning.

Another one of Ozpin's students: Blake Belladonna also encountered Torchwick, who was this time executing an ambitious heist of massive shipping containers of dust in cargo aircraft, in affiliation with the White Fang: a terrorist organisation group who were activists for civil rights for the Faunus (a separate race of beings from humans whom were distinguishable from having animal body parts). Blake, along with the assistance of a competitor from Haven Academy: Sun Wukong, Ruby Rose and Penny Polendina (the first ever synthetic person capable of producing an aura, who was created by General Ironwood himself) managed to stop the robbery. The event however naturally raised concern over what the White Fang were up to and what enemies of peace were planning.
During the Beacon Dance, an unidentified individual infiltrated the Cross Continental Transmit System located in Beacon - one of the four across the whole of Remnant - presumably to steal data.

Most worryingly of all however, during a field trip to the south east of Vale to an abandoned city, led by Dr Oobleck and accompanied by team RWBY, the group discovered an underground network with express trains that were being operated by Roman Torchwick and the White Fang. A train, loaded with bombs in separate compartments ran along the tracks towards central Vale, blowing up holes along the way to let the creatures of Grimm into the city from the south east.
Naturally, these infractions had further justified Ironwood's reasoning to keep his air fleet nearby. It frustrated Ironwood how Ozpin appeared to be unassuming of the idea that enemies of peace could be working undercover: inconspicuously through espionage.

Ironwood suddenly realised that he had been pacing back and forth for minutes continuously. His legs were sore and he felt dizzy. He sat down, picked up his scroll and flicked through his list of contacts. Ironwood wasn't in the mood for reading all the paperwork he had accumulated over the last few weeks and was unsure of what to do. With no action outside the fights and no immediate signs of danger, he had very little to do. Without thinking too much about it, he called Goodwitch. After five seconds, she responded.

'Hello James.' she said.

'Hey Glynda. Did Oz by any chance talk to you about the conversation he and I had after you left his office?'

'No, but I can deduce that you two were talking about your pretentious fleet that is floating above Beacon.'

'It's not pretentious, it's practical Glynda.'
Goodwitch sighed. 'James, I know that your heart is in the right place, but I really do question why this is your instinctive and only approach to a situation where defence is needed.'

'It's because I am being precautious. Ozpin says that we're in a time of peace, but no one can be certain there isn't some major conspiracy or plot currently in the works. We're investigating some of the recent incidents and maybe there isn't anything yet that calls for my fleet, it's better to be safe than sorry.'

'I just think that having a fleet here is intimidating to the people. I get that it's supposed to be deterrent for criminal activity and help the citizens feel safe, but it can also unintentionally insinuate that there is a major threat at large. We want to keep everyone's morale high and not low.'

'There are ups and downs to my military presence Glynda, but I firmly believe that this is ultimately for the better.'

'I'm still not sure that I agree with you entirely James, but I won't make any more of a fuss about it.'

'Yes. I digress too. Anyway, that was not the reason I called.'

'Oh, what did you want then James?' Goodwitch asked, now sounding curious.'

'Well I do agree with Ozpin to a certain extent, and even I have to admit that there is very little to do when my forces are inactive. I was literally pacing around for minutes on end without realising it in the office in my airship. Would you perhaps… like to go to into town for a coffee or something else? Maybe get some fresh air or even something to eat as well?'

'Hmm.' Goodwitch muttered. 'I guess I don't see why not.'

'Ah, that would be lovely.' Ironwood said with a smile on his face.

'It would be indeed.' Goodwitch replied. Although Ironwood couldn't see it, his smile was reciprocated.

'Why don't we meet by the Crow Bar and decide where to go from there.'

'It sounds like a plan.'

'Great. So I'll see you in an hour or so?'

'Yes, see you in a bit James.'

'You too Glynda.'
Ironwood put down his scroll. He remembered dancing with Goodwitch at the Beacon Dance. It was a bit hard to tell, based on the circumstances that the two of them were in, but Ironwood and Goodwitch may have displayed moderate romance towards each other without really knowing it.

Ironwood changed his uniform and sprayed some cologne on his neck to spruce himself up a little bit. He then combed his hair and grabbed his wallet before heading to a small airship to take him to the ground. Before he left however, his scroll began to vibrate. He answered it and heard Goodwitch's voice on the other side.
'James, there's been a change of plans. We need to head to Ozpin's office as soon as possible.'

'Glynda, what's wrong. You sound troubled.'

'I'm not troubled yet, but I've just heard from Ozpin, and he said that we need to go to his office and discuss something with him.'

'Any idea what's going on? Maybe we need to take action now.'

'No General, let's just hear what needs to be said. Oh, and Ozpin also told us that Qrow is back.'

'What? Qrow's back?'

'Yes…' Goodwitch said unsmilingly.

'Ugh…' Ironwood groaned. 'I'll be there. I won't take more than ten minutes.'


Ironwood entered the lift that took him up to Ozpin's office. What could be going on? Nothing had been heard from Qrow for weeks. Ironwood was about to find out what.
The elevator doors opened and Ironwood stepped out. Goodwitch and Qrow were already here. To his mild surprise, Winter Schnee was also here: one of Ironwood's huntresses operating inside the Atlesian Military. She was pompous, proud, but an exceptional huntress with an unfaltering subservient loyalty to the Kingdom of Atlas and General Ironwood.

'Miss Schnee.' Ironwood said startled. 'I almost forgot that you were coming here.'

'That's a bit disheartening General Sir, since we are on very good terms and I said that I had business with you and Professor Ozpin.' she said with discontent in her eyes.

'You have my apologies. Now then, Ozpin, you sent for me?'

'I certainly did.' he replied. Ozpin got up from his desk and stood with the other huntsmen and huntresses in the room.
'Very well.' said Ironwood. 'And you…' he looked disdainfully as Qrow.

Qrow was a bibulous and contemptuous huntsman with almost unrivalled combat prowess, but showed insolence where it was not due or appropriate.
'Me?' Qrow responded with a stutter. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a flask and proceeded to drink. 'Oh hoho, nice to see you again Jim.'

'You've been out of contact for weeks! You can't just go dark like that in the field? Where have been and what have you been doing?'

'I'm not one of your special operatives Jimmy.' he responded scornfully.

'"General!"' Winter corrected him.

'Whatever. Political correctness isn't the issue right now ice queen.'

Winter clenched her fists in spite. 'You dare call me that again!'

'Oh yes I do dare Ice Queen.'

'Everyone, let's keep a cool head.' Ozpin said calmly. 'Okay then. Qrow. Please tell us why you're here.'

'As we discussed weeks ago, I go off and try and get intel on the enemy, and I'm telling you that our enemy is right here.'

'Ozpin sat back down in his chair and Ironwood perched himself on Ozpin's desk. 'We already know that.' he said blankly.

'You know? Oh you know.' said Qrow, becoming irritated. Well thank goodness I'm out there risking my life to keep you all informed!'

'Qrow -' Ironwood began.

'Communication's a two way street, pal.' Qrow took his scroll out of his pocket. 'You see this? That's the send button.' he spat.

'They had reason to assume you'd been compromised.' Winter intervened.

'And I have reason to assume you don't need to be here. Seriously, who invited her?' he said, turning to face the others.'

'I did.' said Ironwood.

'Yet you forgot she was coming? What a great mind you are.'

'Winter,' said Ironwood. 'leave us for now. I'll talk to you later.'

'But sir…'

'Winter, leave.' he demanded.

Winter hesitated before saluting Ironwood. 'Yes sir.' She marched to the lift and promptly exited. Qrow gave her a wink, to which Winter gave a glare in exchange.

'Go on Qrow.' said Ozpin. 'You were about to tell us more.'

'Yes I was. You see, the infiltrator you had in the Cross Continental Transmit System isn't just another pawn. They're the ones responsible for Autumn's condition.

'What?' Goodwitch said, startled.

Qrow took another swig from his flask before continuing. 'Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers or generals or headmasters. The people in this room, the leaders of the two other academies, we're the ones that keep the world safe from the evils no one even knows about. It's why we hide behind closed doors, why we work in the shadows.' Qrow walked right up to Ironwood. They could smell each other's breaths. 'So you tell me James, when you brought your army to Vale, did you think you were being discreet, or did you just not give a damn?'

Ironwood stared into Qrow's eyes. 'Discreet wasn't working.' he said simply. He placed his scroll on Ozpin's desk. A blue hologram appeared of Beacon Academy and Ironwood's fleet. 'I'm here because this is what was necessary.' he explained as he walked up to the hologram.

'You're here because Ozpin wanted you here!' Qrow replied loudly. 'He made you a part of this inner circle and opened your eyes to the real fight that's in front of us.'

'And I'm grateful.'

'Oh well, you've got a real funny way of showing it.'

'The people of Vale needed someone to protect them, someone who would act. When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe, and our enemies will feel our strength.'

Qrow began laughing. 'You-you think they're scared of your little ships? I've been out there and I've seen the things she's made and let me tell you… they are fear.'

'And fear will bring the Grimm' Ozpin added, who stood up once again. 'A guardian is a symbol of comfort. But an army is a symbol of conflict. There's an energy in the air now, a question in the back of everyone's minds: "If this is the size of our defences, what is it we're expecting to fight?'

Ironwood sighed and picked up his scroll. 'So then, what would you suggest we do?'

'I'd suggest we find our guardian.' Ozpin answered in a poetic manner.


'Now then,' Qrow spoke once again, clearing his throat. 'aside from discovering that there's a threat right under of noses, I also discovered something that happened only yesterday.'

'What might that be?' said Ozpin, drinking his hot cocoa once more.

'Something supernatural I dare say.' Qrow uttered before gulping from his flask a third time. 'Something that might be completely unrelated to whatever's going on here, but potentially something that is. Either way, this issue requires IMMEDIATE attention. Something's happened to the continents. Well more specifically, something happened in Western Sanus, Eastern and Central Anima, and Menagerie. Some very, very strange seismic activity occurred. It only lasted for about three minutes reports say, but giant earthquakes transpired. They came without any warning. Citizens from Vacuo and Mistral had to immediately be evacuated and the Faunus of Menagerie suffered greatly. Miraculously, the wreckage hasn't been too large and the Cross Continental Transmit Systems from both Vacuo and Haven managed to not fall down, but they were disabled and still haven't been fixed yet. That's why we've heard no reports from them. Meanwhile, here at the furthest points away from the seismic activity, you haven't felt a thing. I was there and I felt the ground shake before me. I could barely stand, it was tremendous.'

'You can barely stand up at all most of the time with your drinking problem.' said Ironwood. 'Maybe it wasn't that bad, but you being drunk amplified the effects for you tenfold.'

'You're about as funny as the creatures of Grimm, James. What reason do I have to lie to you? We're all allies here. You and I may not be on the best speaking terms Jim, but I can confirm that these earthquakes were real and they were far more severe than anything that has even happened before in history!'

'Earthquakes aren't commonplace in Remnant, I must say.' said Ozpin.

'Exactly!' Qrow yelled. 'And this is just the beginning I tell you. There's been some very unexplainable things. First thing to note is that there were no major tsunamis, despite the earthquakes being most prevalent in the seas between Anima, Menagerie and Western Sanus. The size of the earthquake doesn't correspond at all to the lack of tsunamis. They should've been huge; they should have wiped out so many towns and villages, but the earthquakes were the only natural disasters that happened. Furthermore, did anyone notice last night now there were TWO moons in the sky?! One was our normal moon that's been shattered at one end for as long as history knows about it, and another just appeared that was completely whole. That's more reason for the tides to be shaky, but still nothing has come of it. And wait, it gets more interesting!' he said before anyone could interrupt him. 'The people in Menagerie and Anima claim that while the earthquakes were wreaking havoc, the sun set almost five hours earlier than it should've. The poor civilians were staggering around in the dark as they were being shaken like soda in a tin can. The question is: how do we explain that?'

'Based on what you're telling me so Qrow, this seems like an impossibility.' Ozpin observed.

'Oz, I said it just a few moments ago: we're allies and I have no reason to lie to you!'

'I know, I know Qrow. Please calm down.' said Ozpin, gesturing with both of his hands. 'I'm not suggesting that you are trying to be deceitful. I'm just thinking about the science behind this.'

'Professor Ozpin, I noticed yesterday that the sun didn't set until a much later time.' Goodwitch put forward.

'Well then this next statement is going to blow your mind Oz. When investigators flew out to sea to inspect what was going on, they found that when trying to get from one continent to another, the land they were searching for was completely gone!'

'Gone?' Goodwitch asked. 'What do you mean by…"Gone"?'

'When the pilots took off from Mistral to fly over seas to go to Vacuo, they found that it wasn't where the coordinates are meant to be. Instead, they found an entirely new piece of land: one which we've never seen before. I stayed around long to hear for myself what was being reported, and it seems that this new land already has civilisation of its own. It had buildings and everything. A piece of land just appears out of nowhere with society already on it and it's not part of any of the four kingdoms., yet travelling across the continents via Sanus takes the exact same time as is normal, but the sun is moving much slower than normal. I may be a heavy drinker, but I know what I heard was true. Something fishy is going on. So what are your thoughts?'

No one said anything for almost twenty seconds.

'It's shocking, I know, but we need to take action or at least make some directives.

'Qrow, do you have any idea how big this newly discovered land is?'

'No idea Oz. The investigators dared not fly over it in case the people there were hostile and may not have taken lightly to aircraft flying over them.'

'With our limited understanding of this paranormal activity, it might have something to do with Remnant itself. If it's apparently taking longer to go from daytime to night-time, it might imply a few things, for reasons that we don't know at the moment.'

'What might those explanations be Professor Ozpin?' Goodwitch enquired.

'Two things stand out from the top of my head. One might be that the sun is moving slower, or this very planet is moving slower.'

'What about the land that seemingly popped up out of nowhere, and what about the second moon that seems to have had no real effect on the seas.' Ironwood commented.

'It may sound crazy, but this whole issue sounds ludicrous as it is. What if the planet has somehow grown in size and gotten bigger?'
'But then we would feel the effects of gravity. Everything would feel much heavier.' Goodwitch pointed out. 'Plus, how do we account for this new land having civilisation on it? Can a new world literally just appear as we've described?'

'There are too many questions and not enough answers right now.' said Ozpin. 'We should probably leave it to the Kingdoms that have been affected by it and focus on our own affairs right now.'

'Ozpin, if I may.' said Ironwood. 'We may have too many questions as you say and not enough answers, but some questions might need to be tackled immediately as Qrow said. Could this have been caused by enemies of peace, because this seems far too unorthodox to be natural? If so then this whole supernatural phenomena could be linked with whatever is going on here. And if they are enemies of peace, what kind of power have they gotten hold of to be able to engineer something as unbelievable as making the planet bigger?'

'We can conjecture, but we can't make assumptions just yet General.' Ozpin replied. 'With any luck, the Cross Continental Transmit System will be back online soon if the damage dealt by the earthquakes wasn't too severe. Then we can contact the other kingdoms and we can hear the full story, as well as offer a hand if they need one. Maybe your fleet and military would be more useful nearer the east and west where aid is needed General.'

'I was just about to suggest that Oz.' said Qrow. 'You're not very active here at the moment, are you Jim? Like Oz said, you can make yourself useful somewhere else instead of keeping redundant armed forces here.'

Ironwood grimaced at Qrow. 'I really don't like you.' he said plainly.

'I'm not too big on you myself, but you know that I'm right. If that ugly fleet were mine, I'd be on my way over to West Sanus or Mistral right now.'

'Qrow, I insist that we don't make any moves just yet. We don't even know which Kingdom is in more need of assistance. Vacuo could be doing fine and Mistral might need more of a helping hand or vice versa.'

Qrow was about to protest, but instead said nothing more.

'What now then Professor Ozpin?' Goodwitch asked.

'Right now, we rest and make sure that nothing else happens here during the Vytal Festival. We have an international pact with other Kingdoms, but right now we all need to focus on our own affairs until communication is put right. Thank you for all being here, and thank you Qrow for informing us on this crucial news.' Ozpin concluded.

Ironwood shook hands with Ozpin before leaving. He, Goodwitch and Qrow then strolled towards the lift and disappeared from view as it closed.

Ozpin turned around to look out the window. The sun was still shining brightly. The view of the Beacon courtyard never failed to put a smile on his face. He looked down and noticed there were two items on the horizontal clock hand on the outside.


One was a single piece of popcorn. The other looked like a very long, fine strand of hair. It was orange at one end, pink in the middle and purple at the other. The colour was unusual in and of itself, but Ozpin noticed that the piece of string was sparkling too.